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I had one of *those* lessons where you can't seem to manage the simplest of things, due to arriving feeling overworked and overtired. Then you get cross with yourself, and your mind goes blank and you can't even remember where the keys are.

Last week's pieces went ok, but then my brain had forgotten how to connect with my hands and when I tried new stuff I couldn't remember how to read it, and random fingers kept spitefully pressing the wrong keys. And then I harshly berated myself for it for all this for the rest of the lesson, which only made my attempts get worse.

It sounds like you are all doing very clever things and please don't think me rude for not contributing much, it's just that I don't always really know anything about these things, so there's not always a lot I can add! Maybe one day!

My achievement of the week is that I made it through the first 30 measures of the Moonlight Sonata without a wrong note. My voicing is not where I want it, but the piece is falling under my fingers nicely now. I found my initial work with it very challenging because my hands are a bit on the small side. I could play the ninths, but having my hand in the constant octave stretch was very hard at first. Its getting easier each week.

Heh, my lesson this week went not so well either. It was raining and the wind blew very hard. So I decided to rent an electric car instead of going by bicycle. I left an half hour before my lesson.

The car I found at the corner was full of damages at the outside, so I had to count them all. Grrrrr.

Then when I was ready to go, I forgot that I had to hit the break while moving the poke from parking to drive. Cursing would not help either. So I moved to the second car, with even more damages, hoping this car had not a poke problem. Wrong. But luckily I hit the brake and could move the poke to driving.

The main road was closed, so I had a traffic jam from beginning to end. While it was just a ten minutes ride, now it was an half hour. Halfway my teacher called me asking where I was. Road rage was building up, because my lesson time was ticking away.

Then at the end of the ride, board computer went blank! Wtf! I need that computer to lock off and end the rent. I couldn't contact helpdesk because that communication was through that same computer!

So I parked in front of my teachers house. Looking for a phone number of the company. But it was all web, email based contact. After 8 minutes when I finally found an phone number on the internet, the board computer came up.

20 minutes late and with a lot of rage, I couldn't hit any key properly. Grrrrr... My teacher is very kind and I could make an hour lesson. But it didn't help to relax my emotions. My sound on the piano was bad.

Though I find those electric cars very funny to ride, heh heh.

Glasslove, nice achievement. Moonlight sonata is such a beautiful piece.

MaryAnn --- I can't say I care for any of the suggestions on how to treat your wrist. I trust your dr will have something a little less .....violent!!!

Torguenale - bye bye Czerny, hello Chopin, what a lovely transistion! Plus you are doing really well with MOYD, good for you!

Saranova - I love your in-shop practice story. I wonder how long you'll be able to keep up the charade?

Paperclip -don't you just love those A ha! moments. What you were trying to do sounds extremely complicated. It made my brain hurt just trying to understand it!

Toastie, we all have bad lessons once in a while. Just take it for what it was .. ie, a bad day, and move on. Next week will be better!

GlassLove, - it is such a pleasure to have you back Christine! How exciting that you're working on the Moonlight Sonata --- JimF is working on it too! I wonder when I'll get to start on it. My teacher seems to have some hesitations about giving me longer works and I can't quite figure out why. We're going to have a bit of a chat next week so I can understand what he thinks I need to improve before moving on ..... I will, in the meantime, enjoy hearing about your efforts!

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

I forgot to say that having made recording for my submission to the recital, I have been focussing on my Melody (Schumann). I did a "benchmark" recording tonight, to hear where the weak points are. Yes, there are some, but overall, I'm very very pleased with how quickly this piece is coming together. Very exciting!

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Hey Toastie, I've had the feeling at lessons that I've seen neither the music nor the keyboard before. I call it "jamais vu" to be the opposite of deja vu.

My AOTW is that my Martha Mier piece is starting to sound mostly like music instead of...well, how it was sounding before. After this one, I have only one more in her book 2 and then I will begin Jazz, Rags, and Blues book 3, which proclaims on the cover that it is for "the intermediate to late intermediate pianist" which makes me sit up straight and take a deep breath!

_________________________ Having power is not nearly as important as what you choose to do with it.– Roald Dahl

I had one of *those* lessons where you can't seem to manage the simplest of things, due to arriving feeling overworked and overtired. Then you get cross with yourself, and your mind goes blank and you can't even remember where the keys are.

Last week's pieces went ok, but then my brain had forgotten how to connect with my hands and when I tried new stuff I couldn't remember how to read it, and random fingers kept spitefully pressing the wrong keys. And then I harshly berated myself for it for all this for the rest of the lesson, which only made my attempts get worse.

It sounds like you are all doing very clever things and please don't think me rude for not contributing much, it's just that I don't always really know anything about these things, so there's not always a lot I can add! Maybe one day!

Toastie I am with you on all this. A lot of it is beyond me, so I don't know what to say but wow - people are doing so well! I have only played once since my last lesson- my hours at work have increased and had so much to do ( boring chores etc) and was a bit flu-y last weekend after my lesson. Been tired as well. I really want to make the time to play every night when I come in from work. I've got plenty to work on from Alfred's!And congrats to Starr Keys!

I like reading all the stories and reports. The good and the bad, the frustrating and the rewarding. Sometimes the achievement is muddling through and practicing. As for being in over my head, yes, I share that feeling. However, as I put in more time, read more, listen more, it makes more sense. Terms that used to mean nothing to me, I am using in my own sentences, and my own compositions.

For example two months ago, I didn't know the word ostinato or how to spell it. Today, I consciously use ostinatos in my own compositions and can explain what it means. An ostinato is a short repetitive pattern in the music. Bolero is cited as a famous example, but they occur a lot and can be as simple as two alternating notes.

Many weeks I feel like I have achieved nothing, but then I go to type up my weekly post, and I remember stuff, mostly small stuff, but it adds up. I happily notice that the AOTW tribe seems to be growing, with more newcomers and a returnee. A mutual encouragement society it is. Cheers.

Week 47: I am getting acclimated to the new Casio PX-150. I cobble together a five-inch high platform for the pedal so I can reach it comfortably from my perch on the stool. My digital piano is on a desk, so it is higher than a bench or chair can reach. Hence, the stool and the need to raise the pedal. I download several more Canon in D tutorials, and performances. I find one that I can work with, but it feels almost like starting back at square one with that piece. I view a Youtube of Oscar Peterson on the Dick Cavett show (circa 1977). Mr. Peterson demonstrates a few techniques and styles. His playing is so effortless, so fluid, so fast. I download the free music composition program MuseScore and a couple of scores.

I spend some time with the Casio's metronome. The PX-150 doesn't have a display, so it is difficult to get to a precise tempo. To fill that gap I download an Android metronome app for the tablet, where I can type in the beats per minute.

For serendipity on Ground Hog day, I record and upload my new original, Shadow, for the ABF recital. I get a relatively clean take first thing in the morning, but decide I want more pedal. The red dot wins the next two rounds, as I do several more not-so-good takes with long breaks mixed in between tries. It is some time later before I get another recording that sounds reasonable to me. Recording with the Casio PX-150 is so much easier than it was with the Yamaha NP11. There is a record button on the Casio to record to onboard memory. I play back the recording and route the output to my Sony voice recorder via direct connection. This yields a portable MP3 file without having to connect the computer to the piano. I import the file to the computer, and use Audacity to boost the output level, and my file is ready.

For all those reading along that are on the fence about uploading for the recital, I encourage you to participate. Record what you have, or what you can have ready in the next week or so. What you share may not be the near flawless recordings that some others contribute to the recital. However, especially for true beginners, those recordings can be a useful measuring stick for progress. I can hear improvements in my phrasing, dynamics, and technique, as compared to my early recordings. I am only at 11 months, with almost all of that time on a 61-key instrument.

For all those reading along that are on the fence about uploading for the recital, I encourage you to participate. Record what you have, or what you can have ready in the next week or so. What you share may not be the near flawless recordings that some others contribute to the recital. However, especially for true beginners, those recordings can be a useful measuring stick for progress. I can hear improvements in my phrasing, dynamics, and technique, as compared to my early recordings. I am only at 11 months, with almost all of that time on a 61-key instrument.

I completely agree with this! The AFB recital is not a contest, it is a supportive tool to help us learn and celebrate the piano journey. Everyone is very supportive! The first piece I submitted was from Alfred's method books. I received lots of encouragement. I was very nervous about it, but everyone made me feel welcome and encouraged me.

Malkin, which pieces from the Martha Meirs book 2 Jazz Blues and Rags do you particularly like? I have Book one, and I have book 2 for duets, I'm thinking about getting book two for solo piano.

Which one are you playing now?

EdwardianPiano, it is tough when you can't play as much as you'd like - but be patient, that's the name of the game. Progess happens almost by surprise sometimes.

SandTiger, - an especially nice post today. It sounds like you're really maximizing your practice area to be as comfy as possible,and making beautiful music. I'm looking forward to hearing your submission.

Both you and SwissMS are right on the nail with encouraging new comers to participate in the e-cital. I know that the feedback I've received has really be tremendously exciting and encouraging. I too use my recordings to mark my progress. I am still surprised at how my first recordings received such very kind comments. But let's face it - that's the nature of this forum - PEOPLE ARE NICE here - everyone wants the others to succeed and we all rejoice in each other's triumphs. How wonderful is THAT?!

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Sand tiger - I had never heard of that word until you used it, haha. Sometimes that happens in lessons too. Some words I have to just admit that I have no idea what they mean - sometimes it's even a whole sentence of things that just sound like gibberish. I write new words down in a notebook at home and have bought a musical dictionary so I can look things up. I get quite stressed about this, not knowing what things mean. It's probably the thing that I most worry about in my musical endeavours.

Everyone is doing very well though, doing all these clever things which I can't even mention as I can't remember what clever things you're all working on now.

Sand Tiger -I am not a beginner but still finds out funny things every day. For example I believed Bach's Well Tempered Clavier was Well Tempered Cleaver for a long time. I thought that's why I feel like being chased by a dwarf with a knife when i play it. I also thought Haydn was Heydon.

Ok my achievement - I'm getting used to performing in front of others. I think it's like anything in life, you can get used to it. I still have shakey fingers and fear that I might forget everything but it never happened. I always remember something. I also learned that it's not the worst thing can happen. You just need to wade into the section you know. I had my lesson after the studio class. My teacher told me that we are going to experiment with my Haydn piece. I need to learn the whole piece without looking at my hands. I do it with Bach (most of the time there aren't so much leap) but had never done it in a piece like this. She believes it will make me a stronger sight reader and quicken the pace to learn. So I shall see.

Sand Tiger -I am not a beginner but still finds out funny things every day. For example I believed Bach's Well Tempered Clavier was Well Tempered Cleaver for a long time. I thought that's why I feel like being chased by a dwarf with a knife when i play it. I also thought Haydn was Heydon.

Ok my achievement - I'm getting used to performing in front of others. I think it's like anything in life, you can get used to it. I still have shakey fingers and fear that I might forget everything but it never happened. I always remember something. I also learned that it's not the worst thing can happen. You just need to wade into the section you know. I had my lesson after the studio class. My teacher told me that we are going to experiment with my Haydn piece. I need to learn the whole piece without looking at my hands. I do it with Bach (most of the time there aren't so much leap) but had never done it in a piece like this. She believes it will make me a stronger sight reader and quicken the pace to learn. So I shall see.

Casinitaly--I really quite like all the pieces in JRB book 2! I always seem to like them better when I can play them though!

This book seemed to me like a big jump in difficulty from book 1, although that might have been because the first piece I played was Wild Honeysuckle Rag which is not one of the easier ones in the book, but it is really fun to play

My husband really liked listening to Red Rose Rendezvous, which I have forgotten most of in the last few weeks and he said yesterday that he hoped I wouldn't pass off Misty Night Blues, because he likes hearing it. Well, he got his wish...my teacher said it was clear that I can play it, but it sounds "careful, like you are terrified of playing a wrong note." So my assignment is to be less careful, and especially to sound less terrified.

_________________________ Having power is not nearly as important as what you choose to do with it.– Roald Dahl

I've been bouncing with excitement since yesterday evening. A while ago, after posting an 'easy piano' David Lanz to the piano bar, mr SH suggested I learn Cristofori's Dream. I already knew the easy version, which has a similar intro and outro, but much shortened and simplified middle part.

So I started in the middle! It took two weeks to get through, but suddenly, yesterday, I realised I'd reached the outro. This morning I worked through the intro and now all I have to do is practice this nine-page beauty. Taking on the more difficult middle part sure helped with motivation.

EdwardianPiano, it is tough when you can't play as much as you'd like - but be patient, that's the name of the game. Progess happens almost by surprise sometimes.

SandTiger, - an especially nice post today. It sounds like you're really maximizing your practice area to be as comfy as possible,and making beautiful music. I'm looking forward to hearing your submission.

Both you and SwissMS are right on the nail with encouraging new comers to participate in the e-cital. I know that the feedback I've received has really be tremendously exciting and encouraging. I too use my recordings to mark my progress. I am still surprised at how my first recordings received such very kind comments. But let's face it - that's the nature of this forum - PEOPLE ARE NICE here - everyone wants the others to succeed and we all rejoice in each other's triumphs. How wonderful is THAT?!

I just need to catch up with my jobs/to do lists and get a better routine casinitaly!

Yes it's a great forum- kind and supportive. I appreciate it a lot! Goodness me I couldn't upload anything- can barely play- and don't have the equipment either!

My teacher told me that we are going to experiment with my Haydn piece. I need to learn the whole piece without looking at my hands. I do it with Bach (most of the time there aren't so much leap) but had never done it in a piece like this. She believes it will make me a stronger sight reader and quicken the pace to learn. So I shall see.

Goodness me I have been trying to do that as well- my teacher was trying to get me to get my fingers in the right places and not move them off the keys and play- hard that is! And not look down at my hands as well. I have to practise this. I'm not even doing Haydn just simple Alfred's, but not simple to me ha ha. How's it going with you?

I've been bouncing with excitement since yesterday evening. A while ago, after posting an 'easy piano' David Lanz to the piano bar, mr SH suggested I learn Cristofori's Dream. I already knew the easy version, which has a similar intro and outro, but much shortened and simplified middle part.

So I started in the middle! It took two weeks to get through, but suddenly, yesterday, I realised I'd reached the outro. This morning I worked through the intro and now all I have to do is practice this nine-page beauty. Taking on the more difficult middle part sure helped with motivation.

Wow, I stay away for a week and a half, and there are 5 pages of AOTW to catch up on! You guys are making achievements left and right!

Becca, congratulations on your graduation to the next level! So much more good music to look forward to.

Starr, how exciting that you got into the performance class. What a great opportunity for you!

FarmGirl, it sounds like you're getting some good experience in your studio class. It must be wonderful to notice the difference in confidence from week to week.

Dustin, well, that sounds more like your achievement of the decade, rather than achievement of the week! Welcome to the thread. Keep us posting on how things go as you get back into playing.

PattyP - what piece are you working on?

There was a discussion a few pages back about talent. My teacher said that his students who have made the most progress were not necessarily the ones with the most innate talent, but the ones who were the most dedicated to practicing and learning.

Dvorak's Largo was also mentioned. I'm going to hear this performed later this month. The Cleveland Orchestra will be playing the New World Symphony and the Mozart symphony #40 in G minor. Two beautiful works -- I'm so excited!

I've been concentrating on wrapping up my ABF recital piece. I'm ready for something new, and needed to finish this up. Also finished the Mozart C-minor 2nd mvt. I played it at my last lesson, and my teacher said it was "very nice" (that's as good as it gets from him). My grandson was also listening in, and he added his own opinion, saying, "Nana, that was beautiful!" Now that made my day. So I get to move on the 3rd movement.

I also wrapped up another Bach Sinfonia and am starting on another this week. I might be ready with a set of three for the next recital.

We did some ear training at my last lesson, and I seriously surprised myself when I was able to distinguish between I, ii, VI, and V chords. However, I have this fear that it was just beginner's luck, and next week when we add the vi chord, I'm going to utterly fail. I think this might test the limits of my teacher's abilities!

It's been a long time since I've posted, so it's hard to cover everyone's achievements, so somewhat randomly here, except new arrivals first:

Saranoya, Dustin Spray, torquenale, and PattyP -- Welcome! It's nice to have new folks join this little community (AOTW) within a community (ABF) within a community (PW). I'm basically a "new folk" myself, but everyone is so welcoming that you'll feel like an old friend in no time.

PattyP -- I got a good chuckle out of "shazaam!" for some reason. It really struck the old funny bone.

On to the old timers...

MaryBee -- Congrats on the ear training. I doubt it was beginner's luck!

FarmGirl (also Starr Keys and I think there are a couple others doing group classes?) -- Good for you for tackling this and sticking with it. It's a wonderful opportunity and you're obviously making the very most of it. "Well Tempered Cleaver" cracked me up... it does make sense on a certain level! Are you still planning to do Brahms 118 #2 for the recital I hope? I've been looking forward to that.

Sand Tiger -- Congrats on the PX-150. Glad you were able to make that work. From hearing your last recital submission, it never would have occurred to me that you were limited to 61 keys. I'm looking forward to hearing "Shadow" and what you'll do with the full complement! I've been using an Android metronome as well and it is excellent. "Ostinato" -- never heard of it either, thanks for explaining. Thanks also for your words of encouragement to everyone re: the recital. I've been on the fence, and you're helping push me over.

MaryAnn -- Very happy to hear that your long-running wrist troubles seem to be reaching their conclusion!

To all doing Moonlight Sonata -- I'm a little jealous. What a beautiful piece. I hope you all do well with it and that we get to hear you all in the recital this time or maybe down the road.

RagDoll -- My wife has had some bad mandolin experiences, so I was wincing. Glad to hear you are on the mend now. And Happy Un-birthday as well!

malkin -- Your signature line gives me a big smile every time I spot it.

SwissMS -- We'll hear the Arabesque eventually? I would try the Fazioli. Ultimately, the store really wants you to try the Fazioli, fall in love with it, and maybe buy it some day. I'm reminded of someone else in ABF (I forget who it was but maybe someone else will remember) who really wanted to own a Bösendorfer, which he eventually was able to afford when he retired. As I recall he had it as a goal for much of his life, and he was thrilled to have made the purchase -- and it wasn't something he was able to do casually because he was wealthy. You never know... maybe it will be a possibility for you some day. Or even if it isn't, if you convince yourself that it could be -- maybe you won't feel so self-conscious about trying the Fazioli.

JimF -- I love the graphics! Except for the one for RagDoll... tut tut!

Marybee - nice to see your post again. I don't think it's surprising that you have good ear. You are very musical.

EdwardianPiano - my experiment (play the piano without looking the keys) is going not so badly. Sometimes I have to feel the black keys to land on certain keys but I'm making some progress.

JimF - well it's been great to use your advice to play 3 against 4. There was a slight problem. In my choir (church, I may add), we have been working on Easter special music. It includes 3 against 4. So I proudly shared my newly acquired knowledge passed from you. It worked so all of us started singing with those (unspeakable) words (LOL) in the sanctuary to get the rhythm. Then our church leaders walked by and was shocked. I explained it but was scolded. Some people don't seem to have sense of humor. You should have seen his face when he learned it was me who shared it.

AOTW is more like AOTM (Month) due to mind-boggling demands of work. I put in 80-100 hours per week for two straight weeks, then dropped down to a 60 hour week and it felt just fantastically relaxing.

A month ago I started maintaining detailed records of all of my playing time (except when I just spend a few minutes doing random stuff). So today I totaled up my time and checked how I was doing vs. my intended 40/20/20/20 plan.

Only 12 hours in a month is not a recipe for real progress. I'm moving forward, but painfully slowly.

However, I'm very happy with the ratios above, because the differences from plan are quite healthy. I was worried that I'd find it really hard to back off from Clair de Lune, but this hasn't been the case. I still play the portions I know a fair amount, but I'm totally OK with not learning more (for now -- a couple years at least before trying again). Also, when I play it, it is with a critical ear re: touch, expression, phrasing, etc. so that I am learning from it even if I'm not learning new portions.

I'm also doing less sight reading than I had planned, but this is mostly because I'm just not ready for it. I need some basic aptitude before I can really sight read anything, so it's not a great use of my time to slowly grind through things. I am doing so for variety and because my kids and I like hymns, but not taking all that much time for it.

So, I'm doubling down on The Piano Handbook, which I think is wonderfully written and laid out. I've resolved to continue to play each piece (exercises really, at this early stage) with the metronome until I have them down cold and with proper rhythm. Except Frère Jacques, I just can't take that one!

This has been a very humbling experience. I can play about half of Clair de Lune tolerably well, and Just The Way You Are pretty well on a digital, but I can't play even the simplest of exercises with proper rhythm on a consistent basis, even at 60 bpm. But, as has often been the case on my fairly short piano journey, recognizing a flaw and developing an approach to address it feels like an achievement in and of itself.

Another achievement: I've arrived at a détente with my wife re: the love seat that sits immediately behind the piano bench, forcing me to be scrunched up against the keys. I finally turned the thing sideways so that it faces the piano (since it is wider than it is deep, and nobody other than the dog ever sits on it anyway) and now I have much more space. Not complete freedom to move as far back as I'd like, but enough that I'm in a very reasonable position without me looking and feeling like a folding chair.

What else... I really wanted to submit "Just The Way You Are" for the recital from my acoustic, but this is not going to be feasible for several reasons. First is that my piano is out of tune, and I have a number of keys that are sticking -- which is odd because I thought that this was more likely in high humidity of the summer. It's dry as a bone here, and I had no sticking issues at all just 8 weeks ago as winter was beginning, which makes no sense to me since everything drying out should make it shrink, not expand.

Also, recordings I've done on the phone (.mp4 and .wav) can't be opened at all on my computer, despite considerable effort to fiddle around with Audacity and Windows Media Player. Very odd, and very frustrating. Has anyone had experience with this?

So, I have an out-of-tune acoustic, with sticking keys, no proper recording equipment, and I can't convert the files recorded with my cell into something usable on a computer. Oh, BTW, my pedaling and touch are not up to snuff. On the acoustic it's not totally awful, but it's not at all crisp either. So, it's not looking good right now.

Still, I do have the DGX-500 in my back pocket, and I've recorded from it directly to the laptop before (in mono). I may give that a try. The acoustic setting on it winds up sounding rather "blah", but there are some settings that can be used to sound somewhat close to the original recording. I'll give that a try and see if something usable comes out of it.

Originally Posted By: FarmGirl

ATallGuyNH - yes I'm going to submit 118#2.

Yay!

Originally Posted By: FarmGirl

It worked so all of us started singing with those (unspeakable) words (LOL) in the sanctuary to get the rhythm.

Of course this sent me scrambling to wonder what on earth Jim suggested... but I can't find it.

_________________________
"...when you do practice properly, it seems to take no time at all. Just do it right five times or so, and then stop." -- JimF

aTallGuyNH, have you tried emailing the clip to yourself and downloading. My computer does not like the MP4 format. I need a separate converter program to make a MP3. I believe the one I have is called AnyVideoConverter, but there are several utilities to choose from.

As for 12 hours for the month, I was on a similar schedule from late September to December, 15 to 20 minutes a day. I found it difficult to make any head way, but at least did not back slide. Some folks use a phone app or tablet app to help learn the notes while away from the piano. If a person has commute time, listening to recordings, or tutorials might be of some value. Some listen to recordings of their own playing.